2.5 million Floridians on food stamps

In Broward and Palm Beach counties, the number of people using food stamps has roughly doubled since 2007

March 9, 2010|By Josh Hafenbrack, Sun Sentinel

TALLAHASSEE — There are now 2.56 million Floridians on food stamps.

More than one out of every eight residents, 13.6 percent of the population, rely on the program to help put food on the table. And that number has been growing steadily for almost three years, despite some signs the national economic outlook is brightening.

"These are people who have never been on benefits in their entire life — they're electricians, they're plumbers," said George Sheldon, secretary of the Department of Children & Families, which administers the program. "It is a whole new population of poor people that have never been poor before."

To qualify for food stamps, Floridians must make 133 percent of the federal poverty level or less. For a family of four, that's $28,668 a year.

Maximum monthly benefits are $200 for a single person and $668 for a family of four. The 2009 federal stimulus bill increased the payouts, so the average Floridian receives 19 percent more per month.

In February, the state distributed a record $350 million in food stamp benefits. Food stamps are paid for by the federal government — except for administrative costs, which are split with the state.

Gladys Guerrero, 46, of Pompano Beach, said the program has been a lifeline. She began receiving food stamps last year after she lost her job in real estate. She gets $200 a month.

"I've gotten really, really good at coupons," she said. "I can hit all the buy one, get one free or $1 off and make my $200 go for $230."

Still, Guerrero said, it's not enough. "The cost of food is not peanuts. If you're eating canned food and Ramen noodles, OK. But you can't live on that."

Most people sign up over the Internet and get a monthly debit card, which can be used to buy groceries. Food stamps can't be used to buy beer, wine, liquor or tobacco products.

"This has been a real benefit to people in great need, and it has also stimulated the economy of our state," said Don Winstead, a DCF executive who is overseeing Florida's stimulus spending.

Florida's food stamp rolls hit a low in April 2007, when the state paid out $109.9 million to 1.2 million residents. Back then, 6.4 percent of the state population was on food stamps.

In Broward and Palm Beach counties, the number of people using food stamps has roughly doubled since 2007, with 181,000 in Broward and 110,000 in Palm Beach County now enrolled in the program. Miami-Dade County has Florida's biggest food stamp population with 475,000 people receiving benefits.

Whether the food stamp figures keep growing "is just going to depend on how much the economy rebounds," Winstead said. "We'll just have to see. There are a lot of people who are getting benefits who frankly would rather be back to work. As the economy strengthens, we'll see that reflected in the trend."

Sen. Nan Rich, D-Weston, said that many other states are experiencing a similar increase in food stamps. The figures show how government's responsibility to provide a social safety net expands in an economic downturn, she said.

"People complain that we shouldn't be taking federal money," Rich said. "Here's an example of federal money that is incredibly important to states all over this nation."